Reflecting on a Recent Run

Dear Younger Me,

Do you know what running, poor sleep, and an old mentor have in common?

I didn’t think there would be any correlation until a recent run I went on…

It has been a long week, younger me. I’m sure you can relate.

Late nights. Early mornings.

Meetings that seem pointless. Work that I’m ready to be done with. The holidays so close, but oh so far.

The stress has built up. The end of the year work has piled on.

And to be honest, at times, I’ve felt lackadaisical.

I know you can relate.

It is “that time of year” that comes every year.

But a recent revelation just occurred for me.

A revelation I wasn’t expecting.

A revelation that came on a recent run.

For some brief context, I recently returned home for the holidays and wanted to reconnect with an old church mentor.

After a text asking to get together, I was excited to see he enthusiastically replied asking to get together…

On a Friday morning…

At 5am…

For a RUN…

Nightmare.

That’s what I thought at least.

After a long, stressful, and overwhelming week, the last thing I wanted to do was sacrifice sleep for exercise.

Sacrifice my warm bed for the freezing winter air.

At its essence, I didn’t want to sacrifice being comfortable for being uncomfortable.

But I couldn’t say no.

I was the one that reached out to him in the first place.

So, I accepted and anxiously counted down the days until the dreaded Friday morning.

A dreaded morning that would soon reveal a powerful lesson.

4:30 am. My alarm blares me awake.

I’m exhausted. I knew I didn’t sleep well.

The temptation to snooze my alarm and get the proper sleep I needed was massive.

But I couldn’t let my old mentor down.

I bundled up and when I opened the car door to make my way to the start of the running trail, the wind seemed to freeze the crust in my eyes.

Despite the cold and sleepiness, I somehow made it to the trailhead.

My old mentor was waiting for me with a smile.

Before you knew it we were off.

5 am. Running before the sun even rose.

An hour later, we were finished.

An hour later, a revelation hit me.

Despite little sleep, cold conditions, and a restless week…

I had the most energetic I’d felt in a while.

I was the most fulfilled I’d felt in a while.

After reflecting on this feeling from this recent run, I’ve boiled it down to three factors:

The power of discipline, exercise, and community.

The discipline that came with getting up super early.

The exercise that came from running.

The community that came from being in fellowship with my old mentor.

I’ve always known these three things are important.

But I’ve never thought of them in the way they impacted me after that early run.

The way they can impact YOU during seasons of busyness and stress.

It seems counterintuitive. Feeling restless and exhausted, and doing an activity that would seem to make you even more exhausted.

Right?

Hear me out.

There is a transformative power that comes when you combine discipline, exercise, and community together.

Being in community with my old mentor while exercising in conditions that took every last bit of discipline in me to follow through on increased my vigor, energy, and spirit more than I could have possibly realized.

It created a powerful start to my morning.

It provided an escape from the normal stresses.

It gave me the push I needed to finish the last bits of work before the end of the year.

Reflecting on this recent run reinforced the necessity of discipline, exercise, and community, especially in the morning. It allowed me to win the morning, which in turn gave me the momentum to carry out winning the rest of the year.

Younger me, I encourage you to try out one of these three elements.

Bonus points if you can do all three at the same time.

Even more if it’s in the morning.

You’ll be amazed the momentum you'll build for the rest of the year.

Best,

Older You